


A Dozen Roses and A Six-Pack

by YunaBlaze



Category: Deus Ex (Video Games), Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst and Feels, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunaBlaze/pseuds/YunaBlaze
Summary: Relationship was always a complex topic. The relationship between lovers was the most difficult and usually, there was only two results, get back together or break up.What conclusion would Adam Jensen and Duncan MacReady arrive at?
Relationships: Adam Jensen/Duncan MacReady
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10
Collections: Rare Pairs Exchange 2020





	A Dozen Roses and A Six-Pack

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kameiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kameiko/gifts).



> The story is hugely inspired by the song "A Dozen Roses and A Six-Pack" by Cole Swindell.

Grey. That was the best way to describe the day of the man who stood in the middle of a rainy day. Hands tucked in pockets of his black trench coat, shoulders slouched like a wounded man and an expressionless face masking his inner turmoil.

What troubled this lonely man in the middle of the road?

One simple word.

Love.

At least, Adam Jensen believed so. Otherwise he wouldn’t be feeling this grey. Honestly, he wasn’t sure anymore, seeing he and his lover, Duncan MacReady, had been arguing so much that they seemed more like two antagonistic roommates than an actual couple.

Letting out a tired sigh, the brunet titled his head up slightly as he glanced the empty wet streets around him before a dash of bright colours drew his attention. A small flower shop squashed in between a café and a pharmacy, where it would be have been easily ignored by walkers. Now the colourful flowers it offered and the bright lighting on its window and cursive sign shone blindingly through this rainy day.

The man didn’t realize he was already moving towards it, nor did his mind catch up when he entered the flower shop. He only finally dropped back down to Earth when he heard himself ordering. ‘A dozen red roses please.’

Why the hell did he even bought these?

Because his lover had once complained to him about his lack of romantic capability.

_I WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH YOU JUST BUYING ME FLOWERS!_

Adam had never bothered before, because he did not see the point in buying something that would eventually wilt and leave a mess for them to clean up. Flowers didn’t really smell of anything in his opinion and they just took up unnecessary space. Not to mention that his boyfriend was a military guy through and through, so he pretty much treated that comment as something uttered out of sarcasm.

Still... Might as well. Seeing he got nothing to lose per say.

The florist cheerfully wrapped the flowers up in a huge bundle and bid him farewell as he left the store. At least the roses added a bit of colours on these sombre streets. Hopefully they would survive a few raindrops, because he still had a few miles to go before he reached his apartment.

Despite how dismissive his thoughts were of these blossoms, Adam still did his best to cover them from the thick raindrops as he hurried back. Not that he cared about them, but he rather not get yelled at for bringing back half-wilted wet flowers.

Soon enough, blue eyes caught sight of the red-bricked building in the distance and his pace started picking up, wanting to get out of this rain as soon as possible, though his feet put on the breaks at the flashing neon sign of a convenience store. The bright blue neon sign read, COLDEST BEER IN TOWN.

Beer would be nice as well. In case, he ended up in another argument or... his boyfriend wasn’t coming back. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. They had argued so many times and yet they still ended up staying together. His boyfriend wouldn’t decide to break up with him now, right? Right? Right?

...Yeah. He definitely needed some beers.

With that dreadful thought in mind, he entered the convenience store and headed straight towards the fridge. His hand pounced on the first six-pack he saw and silently paid for it before he continued onward.

It was eerily quiet as he ascended the stairs of his apartment building. Some neighbours would usually linger around, gossiping or smoking. The lack of life on his path home made his surrounding seem even darker as he reached his apartment’s door. When he opened it, the apartment was pitch black, not a single soul was inside.

With a sigh, Adam flicked the lights on as he hanged his wet coat and removed his soaked shirt, throwing it into the laundry basket that was still full of dirty clothes by the door. He set the bouquet of flowers on the table and moved to lie on the couch with the six-pack resting on the floor. The antique clock on the wall continued its ceaseless ticking as drips and taps echoed in a chorus throughout the empty apartment. The brunet never realized how lifeless and boring his home could be without his boyfriend around.

The quietness in his home soon summoned his memories, calling them forward to haunt him as he faintly heard all of their previous arguments.

Duncan, as a military man, preferred everything to be set in an orderly fashion and their self-made house rules were respected, so he easily got annoyed with Adam’s bad habits of leaving things where he dropped them, buying doubles of daily necessities and food they already had in stock, and skipping chores when it was his turn to do them. In a way, Adam did took his boyfriend for granted, dismissing his constant complaints and thinking that it was no big deal not doing his part in their home from time to time.

MacReady had asked time and time again why he had changed into this annoying slob. Adam had never changed in a manner of speaking, this was how he always was. His old apartment was the perfect image of the oxymoron term known as an organized mess. Perhaps it was easier to fall for someone when you only met them in small doses in a week, but when you started living with them and truly came to know them, you found the number of flaws started to rise at an alarming rate, resulting in complete disappointment and the occasional question of why one had fallen for this idiot.

Despite the disappointment, his boyfriend had tried to accept it as a part of Adam’s personality and forced himself to adapt while attempting to change him. A relationship couldn’t survive when it was one-sided. Duncan had tried time and again to get Adam to be more cooperative, to make this relationship work and not turning it into another burden in their daily life. Sadly, the brunet had refused time and again, leading them into a pit of endless arguments. Then MacReady had just up and left one day, no note or voicemail. Leaving Adam behind to deal with the accumulating mess in the apartment and the guilty realization of what his dismissive inactions had done. 

If given the chance, Adam would try to fix this and change for the better, though he wasn’t sure if Duncan would even come back now. It had been a week already and, as if someone in their heavenly throne decided to make things gloomier for him specifically, it had started raining since his boyfriend had left.

After a while, Adam forced himself to get up and grab the bouquet of roses to set them in a vase. For starter, he could try to make the apartment looked less like a garbage dump. As he cleaned up, it nailed in the fact of how difficult things were for MacReady when he had to do all these chores on his own without help. By the end of the day, a small hill of garbage bags were discarded by the apartment building, the washing machine was hard at work to clean the week worth of dirty clothes, and the apartment finally returned to its livable appearance.

The apartment was clean like MacReady wanted and there were flowers waiting for his return. If his boyfriend still wouldn’t come back... well... there were beers for company. The brunet dropped his tired body back on the couch, one hand blindly sought out the abandoned beer cans. It was no longer cold, but Adam did not mind as he cracked it open and drank the lukewarm liquid, swallowing the alcohol just as he swallowed his regret and worry.

A dozen roses for Duncan if he returned and a six-pack beers for himself if his boyfriend was gone for good. No matter what, he was ready for either conclusion of their relationship.

The light jingling keys sounded loudly in the silent air and Adam instantly pounced on the door, wrenching it open to find the shock face of one Duncan MacReady. They both greeted each other awkwardly, unsure how to proceed, for this was their longest timeout period.

‘Welcome home,’ Adam started, trying to get them over this awkward phase, and moved back to allow MacReady to enter.

His boyfriend thanked him uncertainly as he glanced around the apartment with apparent surprise, probably not expecting to come home to a clean environment. Adam was extremely nervous as Duncan seemed to be scanning every inch of the apartment, though the tension was soon drained when he spotted a tiny smile on his boyfriend’s lips when he spotted the roses. Maybe... Just maybe... Everything would work out in the end...


End file.
